Closure for containers



July 25, 1961 NOFER 2,993,611

CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Original Filed Dec. 13, 1952 Patented July 25, 1961 2,993,611 CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Paul Nofer, Schoofstrasse 6, Brunsbuettelkoog, Holstein, Germany Original application Dec. 13, 1952, Ser. No. 325,772, now Patent No. 2,786,593, dated Mar. 26, 1957. Divided and this application Jan. 9, 1957, Ser. No.

1 Claim. (Cl. 215 39 The present invention relates generally to closures for containers, and more particularly is directed to push-on lids for containers of various types, for example, jars which are to be sealed in an air-tight manner, jars for containing preserves and preserving jars, and this application is a division of my prior, co-pending application field December 13, 1952 and identified as Serial No. 325,772, and now Patent No. 2,786,593.

Push-on lids with closure parts which engage under or behind a collar or bead provided externally on the jar are known in various forms. Among these closures, there may be mentioned, for example, the so-called crown cork, which is provided with a corrugated edge flange, the parts of which are positioned in a gripping manner beneath a bead-like projection formed on the head or neck of a bottle.

The main object of the invention is to provide a closure comprising a push-on lid, more especially of a material which can be deformed comparatively easily, for vessels or jars of various types, and which is capable of universal use. A further object of the invention is to provide a closure comprising a push-on lid for jars which have no bead at all and have a uniform peripheral extent at the neck thereof. A further object of the invention is to provide a closure comprising a push-on lid for jars which is capable of providing a better sealing action than the constructions which are known at present.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a closure comprising a push-on lid for jars, more especially for preserving jars, which assures an air-tight and effective closure even with comparatively non-circular jars, such as are unavoidable with mass production, especially of glass jars.

In accordance with the invention, in a closure comprising a push-on lid, the rim of which is provided on its peripheral surface with a plurality of cams, more especially in the form of a continuous ring of cams, the adjacent flanks of successive cams are in direct abutting relationship with each other and form projections which, in the closed position, bear either against the outer wall of the jar or under or behind a bead or the like formed on the jar.

With a push-on lid according to the invention, a packing can be provided at a suitable position for the airtight sealing of the jar; for example, a packing can be arranged in a known manner between the upper rim of the jar and a suitable abutment surface of the lid. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the packing or the packing material can lie against the ring of cams so that external sealing is produced around the outside wall of the jar instead of sealing at the top rim of the jar. Such a construction is particularly suitable for preserves, and centering of the lid can be effected from inside. In accordance with the invention, it is also possible to combine the two aforementioned sealing arrangements with one another.

Further, in an embodiment of the invention, the camlike projections extend generally radially from the upper side of the lid and are curved downwardly at their free ends in the form of claws, with the external surfaces of the cams disposed substantially on a common conical surface, the axis of which coincides with the axis of the jar to be sealed.

It is preferred to make the cam-like or claw-like pr0+ jections on the lid substantially trapezoidal in cross-section, a long side of the trapezium forming the outside wall of a cam, while the diverging short sides form abutting cam flanks.

As the packing material, it is possible to use a sealing ring of rubber or any other suitable material. A sealing ring can be placed on the external surface of the jar with slight initial tension, which ring is then positioned so as to bear and be sealed against the outside wall of the jar by deformation of the cams from the outside during the closing operation. In accordance with the invention, the cam ring itself can be a support of a packing ring or a packing mass placed in position before the deforming operation, the packing mass being disposed in the individual cams and, in this way, a very intimate connection is obtained between the packing and lid, the packing being pressed inwardly towards the rim of a jar during the closing operation by deformation of the cams.

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment which is to read in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a push-on lid embodying the present invention and useful as a closure for jars of various types;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the push-on lid of FIG. 1 shown positioned on a jar prior to the closing operation and partly broken away and in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but with the lid shown in the condition thereof following a closing operation.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that a push-on lid embodying the present invention and generally identified y the reference numeral 10 has a central depressed portion 11 bounded by an upwardly directed flange 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The depressed portion 11 has a plan-form corresponding generally to that of the opening of a jar or other container 13 to be closed by the lid 10 so that the depressed portion 11 can fit into the opening of the jar and the flange 12 then engages the inner surface of the jar at the opening of the latter in order to center the push-on lid v10 with respect to the jar 13.

The lid 10 further has a flat, annular portion 14 extending radially outward from the flange 12, and a deformable annular rim 15 extending radially outwardly from and curving downwardly from the annular portion 14 and terminating in a free edge. As seen in FIG. 1, the rim 15 has a plurality of peripheral elements or earns 16 which may be arranged in the form of a continuous ring of cams or in circumferentially segregated or spaced apart groups of successive cams, as in FIG. 1, so that portions of the rim 15 disposed between the groups of earns 16 are smooth or free of such cams.

As will be seen in FIG. 1, the cams 16 are of substantially trapezoidal cross-section, with the top of the trapezoid being arcuate and the base of the trapezoid being open downwardly. The adjacent cam flanks 17 and 18 of successive cams 16 are in direct abutting relationship with each other to form peripherally spaced nose-like projections or grooves v19 of generally V-shaped cross-section which extend radially and are directed generally inwardly from the above-noted free edge (FIGS. 1 and 2) The apex of each groove terminates at the flat annular pontion.

Preferably, the peripheral portion of rim 15 as noted above is bent or curved downwardly to the extent seen the related cam flanks 17 in'FlG. 2, and the external surfaces of the cams 16 lie on a generally conical surface having a central axis which coincides with the central axis of the lid and of the jar 13 to \be closed by the latter. Further, the projections 19 defined between the successive cams 16 preferably increase in depth toward the free-edge of the rim so that, by reason of such increasing depth and the downward curvature or inclination of the rim, the projections 19 are of generally claw-like configuration. If desired, the edges of the claw-like projections 19 defined at the junction of and 18 can have a rounded cross-section.

A packing is associated with the lid 10 and may take the form of a conventional annular, flat sealing ring of rubber or suitable plastic material disposed against the underside of the annular portion 14 of the push-on lid to seat upon the upper edge or rim of the jar 13 around the opening of the latter when the lid is applied to the ar.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, the packing associated with the push-on lid 10 is preferably in the form of a sealing ring 20 of rubber or suitable plastic material which is disposed under the rim 15 so that, following the performance of a closing operation as hereinafter described, the sealing ring is applied against the outer or external surface of the jar 13 and is gripped or compressed tightly by the claw-like projections 19 (FIG. 3) to provide a secure and effective seal for the closed jar. If desired, the sealing ring 20 may be dimensioned and disposed so that it extends, at least partly, under the flat annular portion 14 of the lid 10 as well as under the rim 15, thereby to provide a seal both upon the upper edge of the jar and the external surface of the jar for obtaining a double sealing action following the'closing operation.

In order to close a jar or other container with a pushon lid of the described character, the lid 10 is placed upon the upper edge of the jar (FIG. 2) and a downgenerally axially directed force is applied to the rim 15 for bending the latter downwardly and radially inward toward the external surface of the jar so that the rim, and particularly the earns 16 thereof, finally have the configuration shown in PEG. 3. The above mentioned downward inclination of the rim 15 in the initial condition of the lid facilitates the downward and inward deformation of the rim, and particularly of the cams 16 thereof, by the axially directed closing force which, if desired, may be applied with a sealing head of the kind disclosed in my co-pending application identified above.

It will be apparent that the claw-like projections 19 defined between the successive cams 16 of the rim 15 are operative to apply a tight gripping force through the sealing ring 20 against the external surface of the jar 13 following the closing operation and thereby strongly resist the removal of the lid from the sealed jar. However, when it is desired to remove the lid 10 from the jar 13, it is merely necessary to insert a suitable instrument, for example, the handle of a teaspoon, between the cams 16 and the external surface of the jar 13 and to slightly bend the cams outwardly and upwardly, whereupon the gripping action of the claw-like projections 19 is released and the lid can be easily removed.

Although the lid 10 embodying the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with a jar or container 10 having a smooth external surface, it is apparent that a similar lid difiering only in dimensions, if at all, may be employed in connection with a jar having an external bead, in which case the claw-like projections 19 of the lid will, by reason 'of their increasing depth, grip under the lower edge of such lz 'ead in the closed condition of the lid. 7

A particular advantage of the embodiment of the invention described and illustrated herein is the ease and cheapness of manufacture thereof resulting from the radially outward extending arrangement of the rim 15 and the earns 16 and projections 19 thereof, which permits production of the lid 10 in onlyone operation, while providing a push-on lid which can still effect a tight closure of the jar or other container.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that particular embodiment, and that various changes and modifications, obvious to one skilled in the art, may be effected therein without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention, except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

A closure for the opening of a container provided with a neck having a smooth outer surface comprising a lid adapted to cover the container opening and including a flat annular portion for seating upon the upper'edge of the container neck, 'a central depressed portion surrounded by said fiat annular portion and adapted'to extend into the container opening for centering the lid relative to the container, and an annular deformable rim extending generally radially outward from said flat annular portion and connected to the latter along a closed line conforming to the outer configuration of the container neck, said annular rim curving downwardly and terminating in a free edge, said deformable rim having peripherally spaced outwardly opening V-shaped grooves extending inwardly from the free edge thereof, the base of each groove being at the free edge of the rim, and the apex of each groove terminating at the flat annular portion, so that said rim is adapted to be deformed downwardly and radially inward by a downward axial closing force exerted thereon for closing said grooves and clamping said deformable rim to the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

